


What I've Been Looking For

by Alexorcisms



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Basketball, Closeted Character, Coming Out, Facebook Messaging, Fluff, M/M, i know little about basketball i'm sorry, only a lil bit though, terrible high school musical references throughout
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexorcisms/pseuds/Alexorcisms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chad had been queuing to order his coffee when they walked in.</p>
<p>First, a girl with long blonde hair and sunglasses that seemed to cover half of her face. She was wearing a pink dress with matching pink heels and was also carrying a small dog, obviously completely oblivious to the coffee shop’s ‘no dogs’ policy. Behind her came a boy of about the same height and also wearing sunglasses, along with a hat...</p>
<p>God, rich kids. They looked like they were about the same age as Chad, but he was pretty sure they couldn’t have been more different from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chad had been queuing to order his coffee when they walked in.

First, a girl with long blonde hair and sunglasses that seemed to cover half of her face. She was wearing a pink dress with matching pink heels and was also carrying a small dog, obviously completely oblivious to the coffee shop’s ‘no dogs’ policy. Behind her came a boy of about the same height and also wearing sunglasses, along with a hat. He wore a white t-shirt and green shorts and was carrying a pink bag that most likely belonged to the girl he was with. They strolled in like they owned the place (and, honestly, Chad wouldn’t have been surprised if they did) although the girl definitely seemed more arrogant than the boy.

God, rich kids. They looked like they were about the same age as Chad, but he was pretty sure they couldn’t have been more different from him.

Chad just wanted to get his coffee and get out of the way as quickly as possible. After all, the last thing he needed was a couple of spoiled brats causing trouble, which they would inevitably try to do. He didn’t know who they were, but he knew what rich kids like them were like; they would do anything for attention. He was aware that the girl was now directly behind him in the queue, but he was doing his best not to look at her, almost as though he was hoping that if he ignored her for long enough she would just go away, as though she was some kind of really irritating bug.

Once he was at the front of the queue he ordered his coffee and waited impatiently for it to be made. He was well aware that the girl behind him was also growing impatient, made obvious from the way she repeatedly tapped her foot on the ground as if it was somehow his fault that it took so long to make a cup of coffee.

Chad heard the near-deafening scream first before he realised what had caused it: in his rush to get out of the way, he’d walked directly into the girl and most of the coffee was now all over her bright pink dress instead of in his cup.

“You idiot! Do you have any idea how much this dress cost?” She was shouting, not just at Chad but anyone who was listening, meaning everybody in the shop. It was impossible not to listen with how loud she was being, obviously just putting it on for attention. Someone like her would almost definitely have multiple versions of the same dress at home, and if not, she definitely had enough money to buy a new one. “I have the most important audition of my life today, and if I don’t get the part because some jerk threw coffee over me… You did this on purpose!” She was crying now. Honestly, it was just embarrassing to watch. If it had been anyone else, Chad would have immediately expressed how sorry he was, but after the way this girl had spoken to him, he decided that she didn’t deserve an apology.

The boy who was with her had grabbed some napkins so that she could try to clean up most of the coffee – although the dress was clearly beyond saving – as he did his best to console her. “Don’t cry, you know you’re going to get the part. You’re Sharpay Evans; you’ll get the part no matter what you wear.” The girl – Sharpay – seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding and immediately stopped crying. She glared at Chad for a moment longer, instructed the boy to order her usual coffee and meet her back at home, and stormed out of the shop, much to Chad’s relief.

“Sorry about that,” the boy said after a long, awkward pause. He took his sunglasses off so he could look at Chad properly and smiled. “She can get a little irritable when she’s got an audition coming up. I’m Ryan, by the way.”

Ryan… Chad liked that name; it suited him, with his perfect eyes and stunning grin… The worst thing about being in the closet was the fact that he was in the closet; he couldn’t flirt with other guys no matter how much he wanted to. And, God, he really wanted to right now. “I’m Chad. Was that your girlfriend or something?”

Ryan laughed, shaking his head. He looked almost offended at the question. “No, she’s my twin sister. I don’t think I could ever date someone like that; she’s hard to handle even when she’s in a good mood… Half your coffee’s probably on her dress now, though, so I’ll buy you another one,” he said with a smile. He turned to the counter and ordered the two coffees before Chad could even think to object.

“Aren’t you going to get one for yourself?” Chad asked, seeing as the other coffee was obviously for Sharpay.

“Normally I would, but with her audition and everything Sharpay’s more important today,” Ryan explained with a shrug. Chad had the feeling that Sharpay was more important pretty much every day in the Evans family, regardless of whether or not she had an audition. That just didn’t seem fair, but Ryan apparently read Chad’s mind and continued with his explanation, “This audition will literally change her career if she gets the part. Sharpay Evans will be the biggest star of the century, just you wait.”

Chad frowned at that, although he managed a grateful smile as Ryan handed him the coffee. “Biggest star of the century, huh? That’s a pretty bold claim. But even so, just because she’s going to be a star doesn’t mean she can just treat her brother like her personal slave.” The way Ryan was being treated just wasn’t fair. He obviously tried so hard to help his sister out, and he never got anything in return. Chad offered to pay for his own drink, but Ryan refused. After all, he had more than enough money that one drink wasn’t going to make any difference to him, really.

Ryan thought that it was sweet that Chad actually cared because people only ever seemed to care about Sharpay, but he said nothing about that. Instead, he simply stood there for a moment, watching Chad as though he wanted to say something else, before looking at his watch and frowning. “I should go. Can’t have the coffee getting cold before I get home, y’know? Well, it was nice meeting you, Chad. I’ll see you around, I guess. He put his sunglasses back on and left the coffee shop without even giving Chad a chance to respond or say goodbye.

Chad sighed, trying to ignore the few people who were still watching him as if they expected him to spill his new coffee on somebody else. He sat down at and empty table and looked out of the window, just in time to see Ryan turning round a corner and disappearing. He wondered if he would ever see the boy again. God, he hoped he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll hopefully be able to update weekly!


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan Evans… Ryan Evans… Ryan Evans… No matter how hard he tried, Chad couldn’t get that name out of his head.

It wasn’t too much of a problem at first, because whenever his friends asked him why he seemed so distracted he could just pretend that he was tired. However, three days after his meeting with Ryan he had basketball practice. This wasn’t just high school basketball anymore, this was real, and it was important that he stayed focused at all times during practice.

Chad still wasn’t sure how he’d ended up on the same team as Troy Bolton. Yes, they’d played together in high school, but he figured they’d part ways after that like the rest of the team had. He assumed Troy had probably pulled some strings and somehow convinced the coach to let Chad try out for the team. Luckily for him, he was good enough to join.  
It was only now that he was starting to regret joining as he saw Troy coming towards him after practice. “Something’s on your mind, isn’t it?” Troy asked, sitting down on the bench next to Chad. “Anything I can help with? You weren’t focused at all today, it felt like your head just wasn’t in the game. What’s wrong?”

Chad wasn’t surprised that Troy had noticed; after that practice there was no doubt that the coach was starting to re-think his decision to put Chad on the team. He hadn’t been able to focus at all, plagued by the thoughts of when he’d see Ryan again – if he’d see him again. However, telling Troy the truth about what was going on would mean he’d have to come out, and although he was sure that his best friend would accept him, he just wasn’t ready. “It’s nothing,” he lied, “it’s just been a rough few days, I’ve been tired. I’ll get over it soon enough then things can go back to normal.

Troy knew Chad far too well to believe that. “Girl problems, huh? What’s her name?” He asked with a smirk.

Chad sighed. He knew this would happen, but he still couldn’t bring himself to tell Troy the truth. “Uh, Sharpay… Sharpay Evans,” he said after a moment of thought. Even if he was straight, he was pretty sure he could never have a crush on that girl, because she seemed like a horrible person no matter how pretty she was, but at least she was from the right family. “She’s cute.” Well, Ryan was cute…

Troy laughed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’re getting this distracted over some girl. Come on, man, she’s ruining our practice. Have you ever actually talked to her?”

“Yes, but we only met a few days ago. I haven’t seen her since.” Chad sighed, knowing how pathetic he probably sounded. “Y’know, I think I’ll just go home, try to get her out of my head. I’ll be more focused next practice, I promise.” The last thing he needed was to be kicked off of the basketball team because he had a crush on Ryan bloody Evans.

As soon as he got home, Chad just laid on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He had no idea what to do; he’d spent an unhealthy amount of time in that coffee shop the past few days in case Ryan came back, but he supposed after what happened last time Sharpay had found somewhere else to get her coffee. He had no idea how he was supposed to contact Ryan now.

Unless…

He sat up suddenly and grabbed his laptop, logging onto Facebook. It took a while, but he finally managed to find Ryan’s profile. He hesitated, his hands shaking before he finally built up enough courage to send a friend request. Now, he just had to wait.

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long. No more than three minutes had passed when he got the notification that Ryan had accepted his friend request. He knew that he was far too excited about this – after all, he didn’t even know if Ryan was into guys – but at least this was a start.

14:03 Ryan Evans:  
Hello stalker ;)

14:03 Chad Danforth:  
its not stalking if you give me your name.

14:04 Ryan Evans:  
Haha :) I suppose that’s true

14:04 Ryan Evans:  
Nice of you to think of me, though! :D

14:04 Chad Danforth:  
yeah you seemed cool so i thought id get in touch.

14:04 Chad Danforth:  
looking at your profile now… youre an actor?

14:04 Ryan Evans:  
You’re looking at my profile? You really are a stalker ;)

Ryan Evans set the nickname for Chad Danforth to Stalker.

14:05 Stalker:  
thats not fair!

Stalker set the nickname for Ryan Evans to hat boy.

14:05 hat boy:  
But I am an actor, yeah :) Mainly along with Sharpay

14:05 hat boy:  
She does most of the solo stuff

14:06 Stalker:  
i dont think its fair for her to always have the spotlight.

14:06 hat boy:  
Don’t worry about it – it’s just how we work haha :)

14:06 Stalker:  
i wanted to thank you for the coffee the other day.

14:06 Stalker:  
you left pretty quickly so i didn’t get to say anything.

14:06 hat boy:  
It’s no problem! ^_^ It was only fair seeing as your first one was wasted

14:07 Stalker:  
your sister was pissed.

14:07 hat boy:  
Can you blame her? That dress was designer, as she kept reminding me

14:07 hat boy:  
She got the role in the play and bought a new dress so I don’t think she’s mad now :P

14:07 Stalker:  
im glad to hear it haha

14:11 Stalker:  
are you busy later?

14:12 hat boy:  
I don’t think so, why?

14:12 Stalker:  
i wanted to repay you for the coffee so i thought we could meet at the coffee shop again?

14:12 Stalker:  
maybe around 6?

14:12 hat boy:  
That sounds good to me! :D It’s a date

14:13 Stalker:  
no.

14:13 Stalker:  
its not a date.

14:14 Stalker:  
im straight.

14:14 hat boy:  
It’s just an expression haha :P

14:19 Stalker:  
right sorry.

God, he was such an idiot. He knew that “it’s a date” was just an expression, and he knew that Ryan meant nothing more by it. He didn’t know why he freaked out about it so much. He supposed this was the first real crush on a guy he’d had in a long time, and knowing that they were going to meet up later that day made him nervous. He hated himself for telling Ryan that he was straight. Not only was it a complete lie, but it ruined all of his chances of the coffee that night being anything more than just two friends hanging out. He could, of course, tell Ryan that he was actually gay, but he’d never told that to anyone, and he hardly knew the guy. Yet… He trusted him. That was probably just the crush clouding his judgement.

Taking into account the amount of time he’d need to get to the coffee shop, Chad had about three hours to get ready. He knew that was plenty of time, especially seeing as it was just coffee with a friend, but he had no idea what to wear. He wanted to make a good impression without looking like he was trying too hard, and after several hours he finally decided on a shirt with jeans. It was a smart-casual look, so he figured that would be alright. He hadn’t been this nervous in a really, really long time. He supposed that was because he was trying to impress a rich kid, which is something he never thought he’d do.

An hour later, Chad found himself making his way into the coffee shop, unable to help smiling when he saw Ryan standing by the counter. He’d turned up early with the intention to arrive first and make a good impression, but it seemed that Ryan had had similar ideas. “Hey,” he said as he walked over to the blond boy, still smiling.  
Ryan grinned as Chad approached. In was dressed in a smart-casual fashion, similar to Chad, along with a white cap. “I was starting to think that you weren’t coming,” he joked, well aware that they’d both turned up ridiculously early, both eager to impress the other. Both of them tried to ignore that fact, not wanting to analyse what that meant. “I almost ordered our drinks, then remembered that it’s your job this time. I’ll have a latte.”

Chad nodding, glad that he didn’t have to queue for too long before getting to order their coffees. Once he finally had the drinks, he found a table for them in the corner of the café where they could sit down. “Look, I’m sorry for freaking out about the ‘date’ thing before. I don’t know why I did that, it was stupid of me.”

Ryan agreed that it was stupid, but he assured Chad that he didn’t mind. “A lot of straight guys say things like that, they’re desperate to protect their masculinity or something like that,” he grinned at that point, not wanting to actually offend Chad. “It’s not a big deal.” He took a sip of his coffee and almost burnt his tongue on it, which caused both himself and Chad to laugh. Even though they weren’t that close, things like that made them feel much more comfortable with each other.

“Well, that’s the thing, though,” Chad began, but he trailed off. He wanted to tell Ryan the truth, but he was scared. Well, no, actually – he was terrified. It had taken far too long for him to even accept himself that he didn’t know if anybody else would be willing to accept him. He looked around to make sure he didn’t know anyone in the café before continuing, “I’m not straight… I’m gay, actually. I don’t know why I told you I was straight earlier. I think I just got scared because I’ve never told anyone I’m gay and I only met you today but you’re the first person I’ve come out to which was ridiculously hard and I haven’t even come out to Troy yet and he’s been my best friend since we were kids and oh God I’m rambling and –” It was the sudden realisation that Ryan had moved his chair around the table to be closer that finally made Chad stop talking.

“It’s okay, just breathe, yeah?” Ryan was laughing. He knew he shouldn’t laugh, because he could see how nervous Chad was about all this, but the way he was making such a big deal out of it was hilarious. “You’re really good at acting straight, you know. You had me fooled. I mean, I’m gay too, but it doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure that out. Sharpay reckons it’s all the hats that gives it away,” he said, laughing again.

Chad simply stared at Ryan for a moment as if he wasn’t sure what he’d just heard. Ryan was gay too, meaning that he actually could have a chance with him… However, he reminded himself that he still hardly knew the guy and that taking things slow was almost definitely the best thing to do right now. “Well, it’s good to know I had someone to definitely trust to keep my secret. I can trust you, right?” He asked eventually as he started to drink his coffee, just so that he had something to stop himself from rambling again.  
Ryan smiled and nodded. “You can trust me,” he promised. “So, why haven’t you come out to anyone yet? Are you scared people won’t accept you?”

Chad shrugged, looking down at his hands. He was a basketball player, and being gay just didn’t seem to fit with that career, although that was just a stereotype. However, he didn’t say that out loud, because he knew that it was a pretty pathetic excuse. “I guess I’m just not ready yet,” he finally said. Ryan assured him that was okay, and there was silence for a while as the two drank their coffees, both obviously a lot more comfortable than they were when they first sat down together a few minutes ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this was a little later than I expected it to be, sorry! Next upload should be in about a week though :D


	3. Chapter 3

Chad wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, but after coffee that evening, Ryan had somehow convinced him that they should continue hanging out. Chad was more than eager to agree, of course, because neither of them actually wanted to leave, and that’s how they somehow ended up sitting on the bed in Chad’s bedroom. To an outsider it would have been obvious how badly they wanted to kiss each other, but they both felt too awkward to actually notice.

They had been sitting in silence for almost half an hour after arriving at Chad’s house, and it was clear that they were both starting to feel awkward about it. They should have had loads to talk about, really, seeing as they’d only just met each other, but neither of them could think of a single thing to say.

Several times, Ryan had almost moved to kiss Chad, but he stopped himself. They’d only met that day, after all, and with Chad coming out to him only an hour before, Ryan decided that he probably needed time, and so didn’t want to pressure him.

Several times, Chad had almost moved to kiss Ryan, but he stopped himself. He didn’t know Ryan anywhere near well enough for that, and besides, Ryan might have already had a boyfriend. Chad didn’t know how to ask about that without making his intentions obvious, so he stayed silent.

Ryan was the first to speak. “Do you believe in soulmates?”

“What?”

“I mean, you meet someone and at that point, you don’t even know them, but you already feel like they’re the one,” Ryan explained, “do you believe in things like that?”  
Chad was quiet again for a moment, trying to figure out where this conversation was going. “If you mean love at first sight, then no. I think it’s shallow to decide you love someone based on what they look like.”

“Not necessarily love at first sight, no. It’s more like…” Ryan trailed off as he tried to think of the best way to explain how he felt. “You meet someone, and sure, you might think they’re attractive, but that’s not too important. You talk and you start to get to know each other, and you realise that you’ve never felt this way about anyone else.”

As Ryan talked, he slowly moved closer to Chad, but the other boy didn’t even seem to notice as he was still trying to figure out what Ryan was implying. His confusion was soon answered, however, when Ryan pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

Chad pushed Ryan away almost immediately. “Dude, what the hell are you doing?” He was starting to understand what Ryan was saying before because he had a feeling he felt that way too, but he was scared. He barely knew Ryan, and he’d only just been able to admit to anyone – even himself – that he was gay. Things were moving too quickly and he didn’t know how else to deal with it. “Sorry,” he added once he’d calmed down a little, hating how upset Ryan looked at the rejection, “I don’t know if you’re just hoping to screw me and leave, or if you want a serious relationship, but I’m not sure I can give you either of those. I don’t want to have sex with someone I hardly know, and you don’t look like the type of person who would want a secret relationship.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” Ryan asked. He was still hurt, of course, but at least Chad was willing to explain why he acted the way he did.

Chad sighed. “I mean, I’m not out to anyone else and I don’t plan on coming out to anyone else any time soon. If we date, we can’t tell anyone, and you just seem like a very open person. It doesn’t seem like something you’d be able to do.”  
Ryan shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, once again moving a little closer to Chad, but not close enough to freak the other boy out again. “I’m very good at keeping secrets, and you wouldn’t be the first closeted guy I’ve dated. Secret relationships are hard, but we’re in this together, right?” He added, nudging Chad gently, causing the other boy to smile slightly.

Chad nodded, but he didn’t actually say anything in response. He had no idea how the hell he was meant to respond to this, because the idea that this guy – this funny and nice and ridiculously hot guy – wanted to date him was just… Absurd.

“Chad?”

“Hm?”

“There’s no rush, honestly. If you’d rather not date right now, I get it.”

Chad nodded again. “I think we should get to know each other a bit better.”

The two boys sat in silence again for a while longer, before Ryan finally looked at his watch and stood up. “I should get going before Sharpay starts wondering where I am. I’ll message you on Facebook, alright?” He didn’t give Chad a chance to respond before he walked out the door and left the building. Of course, he didn’t actually have to leave at that point, but he was starting to feel awkward and he could tell that Chad felt the same, so he figured it would be best if he just left. Chad understood this perfectly. He felt like he’d seriously screwed things up now; he was unsure if they’d even have a proper chance at friendship, let alone a relationship. However, Ryan promised to message him on Facebook, and so he opened up his laptop and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to stop saying that I'll update regularly because that's obviously a lie - sorry! Life keeps getting in the way :'D


End file.
